Let me make two things clear. I think Barack Obama is and remains the best choice that the Americans could have opted for particularly after the dysfunctional and ultra rightist Bush Administration. Secondly, I feel that strong transatlantic relations are imperative and essential between the EU and the United States.

But during a recent visit to the UK I was particularly struck by two sharp observations. There is deep concern within EU ranks that relations with the US had not worked out as they should have. And various statements were made by UK Tory Cabinet ministers – even during a climate conference I attended – which implied that Britain should rethink its traditional faith in its relationship with the US and opt for a more balanced approach. The overall message seemed to be: let us put rhetoric apart and get down to some hard facts and choices.

It is time for an understanding of the drivers of change in today’s world rather than sentimental attachments – with the former being meant to determine foreign policy choices.

Eminent think tanks recently concluded that individual European states will increasingly find themselves less able to influence world politics and that even collectively, the NIC – the US National Intelligence Council – predicts that the EU will see its power decline by more than any other major international player between today and 2025.

Belonging to a member state of the EU, I would not like to see this happen, but I very much regret that this is how I fear that the EU is perceived on the other side of the Atlantic. Whether we like it or not.

One can hardly ever judge EU-US relations purely on the basis of UK-US relations. After all, the UK has provided the largest and most effective non-US contingent to three American-led conflicts in recent years – twice in Iraq and once in Afghanistan – while in spite of the overtly pro-Washington Blairite tilt, a strong pro-American bias in UK foreign policy has both preceded and outlasted him.

One factor which has made public opinion in Europe somewhat cynical about the US is the apparent lack of American sensitivity to European interests which has been highlighted in several past and recent statements, policy decisions and even studies.

While Mr Obama’s election had sent expectations soaring through the roof, there seems to be a mutual feeling that Europe as a whole has come to be less of a priority for the United States. Europeans feel this way and so do a number of Americans I know.

What many find worrying – and this is reflected in a recent Barroso observation – is that the current US Administration is widely perceived as being even less intrinsically interested in Europe than its predecessors.

A recent report by the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee was greeted in many sections of the media as a devastating critique of the transatlantic partnership. No one is suggesting that one should pick fights with the US Administration. I am sure that in the long run the Obama Administration can prove to be more forthcoming, understanding and sympathetic than any previous US Administration. At least in the post-Clinton period. But I think a necessary first step is for the US to approach the EU as a bloc and its member states on a bilateral basis, with less of an a la carte approach or attitude.

The general feeling in many European capitals, however, is that a clear preference for working with the United States no longer produces the kind of results expected of it.

On a purely bilateral basis, the recent ratification of the double taxation agreement should be considered a development that adds value to our relationship. Particularly when recalling the stiff resistance that we used to find when “selling” the idea with the US State Department and the US Treasury even at Foreign and European Affairs Committee level.

I remember one senior American diplomat who genuinely loved Malta asking us once formally: “Give us one good valid reason why there should be such a double taxation agreement” as well as “Kindly name one single US company that refrained from setting up shop in Malta because of the absence of such a treaty.”

But that is history and credit should be given wherever it is due for the steps forward that have been made. And the bi-partisan support on this issue, both in Washington and in the Maltese political sector too.

Malta, together with other EU member states, should engage itself even more proactively than ever to give added gravitas to transatlantic relations, regardless of the fact that we do not belong to a military bloc, while at the same time stepping up the momentum of our relations with our North African neighbours, the Gulf States as well as the emerging powers with whom we have so little to show economically so far.

Perhaps some of the criticism that we are leveling at the Obama Administration is what has been described as “a symptom of collective post-euphoric hangover – the healthy ending to a hyperinflation of expectations”.

I remain a cautious optimist on this issue, because although there are still no evident signs that transatlantic relations could be given a boost in the near term, Mr Obama has resorted to soft power more than others; while his speeches reset standards of civility and seriousness in international fora.

Let us now move together towards the attainment of much hoped for and desired “deliverables”. I hope I am not day dreaming.

The author is the Shadow Minister for the Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change and member of the Standing Committee on Foreign and European Affairs.